


a small price to pay

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: Community: comment_fic, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Het, Pregnancy, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 13:50:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14594397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Nick and Ellie’s day off gets off to a bad start.





	a small price to pay

**Author's Note:**

> Theme : vacations  
> Prompt: any, any, being sick on your day off is no fun

The sound of uncontrollable retching wakes him up and Nick hesitates for barely a second before getting out of bed and making his way to the bathroom. He sees there exactly what he knew he would and slowly, carefully, because he’s learned how to make these things go smoothly, he comes up beside Ellie, kneels down beside her and gathers her hair back from out of her face, holds it there with one hand. The other he lays on her back and he winces as he feels the muscles there contorting again, wincing again at the sound that Ellie makes. 

He doesn’t know how much longer it is before she straightens up and he takes the hint, puts down the toilet set and pulls the lever. She lays her head back down on the seat, not ready to move yet, looks across at him with the saddest eyes he’s ever seen. “I thought I was through with this,” she tells him and he feels brave enough to reach out, run his fingers through her hair. 

“I know, baby.” Her eyes close at his touch so he repeats the movement, keeps on doing it. “Me too.” 

Because for pretty much the last month and a half, this had been how he’d woken up every morning. Except for the last two days and he’d begun to hope that, as they reached the magic three month mark, morning sickness might be a thing of the past. Apparently not. 

“It’s our day off.” He knows exactly how miserable Ellie feels when she goes into full whining mode. She never whines, doesn’t have it in her. Usually. “We had plans... drive out of the city, follow the blue skies... no Gibbs, no suspects, no dead bodies... oh God...” As if the mere thought of them has conjured up another bout of nausea, she sits up staight, her hand over her mouth as her throat works furiously and Nick moves quickly, flipping the lid up just in case. Ellie swallows again, takes a deep breath, then another one. “No, I’m ok,” she says. “False alarm.” 

False it might be but Nick’s still looking at her warily - they’ve been fooled before, which was how the team had come to know their secret before they’d been supposed to tell anyone. “You think you’re ready to get back into bed?” he asks. “I’ll bring you in some ginger ale... help settle your stomach.” 

He knows better than to offer her food until she asks for it but from the wan smile that lights her face, she’s grateful for the offer. “You’re so good to me.” 

“Least I can do,” he says as he helps her up, keeping his arm around her waist until he’s sure she’s steady on her feet. He’s alarmed when she leans into him, for a moment thinking she’s fainted, but then her head lands on his shoulder and her arms go around her waist and he feels her breath tickle his neck when she speaks. 

“What would I do without you?” 

He chuckles without humour. “Not be in this predicament for a start?” Her head tilts up and her eyes meet his, dancing with amusement. “We can still have our romantic day off together, just in the city,” he decides. “Once you’re feeling better, we’ll make a plan.” 

She groans as they shuffle back to the bedroom. “And if this is one of the days where I’m sick all day?” 

He doesn’t blink. “Then we stay in bed and I wait on you hand and foot.” He narrows his eyes theatrically. “Wait, isn’t that how we got in this predicament in the first place?” 

Ellie giggles at that, reaches up to kiss his cheek. “Even with this...” She gestures in the vague direction of the bathroom. “I wouldn’t change it, you know.” 

“No.” His hand goes to her stomach, still flat for now, and he thinks about the next few months, the next few years, all the changes that are going to take place and he thinks changing plans on a day off is a small price to pay. “Me either.”


End file.
